Coast brings home a pair of OEC team titles

RIVERSIDE -- It was a dominating performance for the Orange Coast College men's and women's cross country teams on Friday as they each took home the top team spot at the 2011 OEC Meet, hosted by Riverside College.
 
For the OCC women, it was the 16th consecutive OEC title, dating back to 1996. On the men's side, the Pirates won their seventh conference title over the past nine seasons.
 
Led by sophomore standout Meghan Foley, the Pirates nearly pulled off the perfect top-5 score and totaled 16 points, with Fullerton (77) taking second place and Riverside (82) placing third.
 
Foley won the OEC title with a winning 5K time of 20 minutes, 14.5 seconds. Close behind was teammate Analicia Silva, who took second with a time of 20:28.5. Placing third was Chelsea Clifford (20:31.6), while teammate Grace Adams-Andy (20:52.7) finished fourth.
 
Carmille Garcia nearly cracked the top five, but settled for sixth place with a solid time of 21:02.
 
Other top times for the Pirates include Sulema Sanchez (21:26.3), Maria Matias (21:56.4), Nicole Barbour (22:22.2), Nadine Marine (23:30.8), Alexandra Gavrilas (23:31.8), Gavriela Valdez (23:37.9), Lindsay Bramel (23:41.1) and Eva Castellon (28:20.7).
 
For the OCC men, it was a five-man, top-10 performance that led the Pirates to the title, finishing with 25 points. Defending champion Riverside College took second place with 43 points, while Saddleback (64) took third.
 
Leading the Pirate runners through the four-mile course was sophomore Zachary Ellis, who finished third with a time of 21:39.8. Saddleback's Ricardo Campuzano won the OEC individual title with a time of 21:28.7.
 
Sophomore teammate Michael Taylor was close behind Ellis with a fourth-place time of 21:42 and he was followed by the trio of Matt Bottomley (fifth, 21:49.9), Austin Little (sixth, 21:50.5) and Hugo Gutierrez (seventh, 21:51.4).
 
Other strong performances from the Pirates on Friday were turned in by Ryan Shota (22:28.4), Johnny Lezama (22:30.5), Erick Quintero (23:02.7), Matthew Soto (23:09.2), Michael Lucero (23:25.9), Michael Ellis (23:29.8), Andre Sanchez (23:40.4), Adan Martinez (24:18.3), Jake Shota (24:56.0), Donald Tran (24:56.3), Jorge Diaz (25:38.9) and Teylin Ruiz (25:57.2).
 
Next up for the Pirates will be the Southern California Regional Meet, set for Friday at 9 a.m. at Gusti Park in Rancho Cucamonga.